INTRODUCTION TO

PARASITOLOGY

∙ Basic Biomedical Sciences ∙

Parasitology Department, Medical School
Universitas Sumatera Utara
 Specific Learning Objective

 Definition of parasitology
 Terminologies in parasitology
 Classification of human parasites
 Morphology, life cycle, distribution, and
epidemiology of Ascaris lumbricoides
 Morphology, life cycle, distribution, and
epidemiology of human hookworms
 Morphology, life cycle, distribution, and
epidemiology of Trichuris trichiura
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 PARASITOLOGY

Parasitology is a study about

parasites, their hosts, and the
relation between them

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 Terminologies

 Due to living sites:

 Ectoparasites

 Endoparasites

 Due to living habit:

 Obligate Parasites

 Facultative Parasites

 Incidental Parasites

 Zoonotic
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 Terminologies

 Due to parasitism period:

 Permanent parasites

 Intermitten Parasites

 Protelean Parasites

 Due to host specificity:

 Monoxen Parasites

 Heteroxen Parasites

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 Terminologies

Types of Host:
 Definitive Host
 Intermediate Host
 Paratenic Host
 Reservoir Host
Types of Vectors:
 Biologic Vector
 Mechanic Vector

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 Classification of Important Human
Parasites
PARASITOLOGY

Helminthology Protozoology Entomology

Nematodes Platyhelminthes
Crustacea Myriapoda

Trematodes Cestodes Arachnida Insecta

Amoeba Ciliata

Flagellata Sporozoa

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HELMINTHOLOGY

 Nematodes

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 NEMATODES

 A phylum of cylidrical elongated worms

 About half million known species
 Mostly free-living
 A few cause diseases of great importance to
humans, animals and plants

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 NEMATODES

General Characteristic:
 Cylindrical, elongated
 Bilaterally simetrical
 Unsegmented
 No appendages
 Taper at both ends
 Possess a pseudocoel
(body cavity)

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 NEMATODES

 Various size
 Usually creamy white to pinkish
 Digestive system usually complete
 Body covered with noncellular cuticle
 Pronounced sexual
dimorphisms
 Males usually smaller,
tail more curled
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 NEMATODES

 Phases of life cycle consist of egg, larva and

adult
 Infective larvae: filariform
 Free-living larvae: rhabditiform

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Ascaris lumbricoides

Roundworm

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Ascaris lumbricoides

• Infection called
ascariasis or
ascariosis
• Diagnosis is based
on stool
examination:
– Eggs found
microscopically
– Adults from stool

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 Taxonomy

Phylum : Nematoda
Class : Rhabditea
Subclass : Rhabditia
Order : Ascaridida
Superfamily : Ascaridoidea
Family : Ascarididae

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 Distribution
World wide, throughout temperate and tropical area
A quarter population infected globally
High prevalence in Indonesia,
about 60% - 90%

Morphology
- Adult –

 Habitat: human small intestine

 Male:
 15 – 31 cm (l); 2 – 4 mm (Ø)
 Hooked tail end, consists of a pair of spicule
protrudes out of cloaca.
 Female:
 20 – 49 cm (l); 3 – 6 mm (Ø)
 Linear tail end
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Morphology
- Adult -

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Morphology
- Adult -

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 Morphology
- Adult -

 Mouth consists of
three lips:
 2 ventrolateral
lips
 1 dorsolateral lip

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 Morphology
- Egg -

 Laid 200.000 a day

 Measurements: 45 - 75 x 35 - 50 μm, ovoid shape
 Found in human feces or contaminated soil
 Mature in soil → embryonated
 Egg types, based on:
1. The presence of albumin layer (corticated/decorticated)
2. Contents:
a. Granules (unfertilized), usually more elongated shape egg

b. Egg cells (fertilized)

c. Larva (embryonated/infective stage)

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 Morphology Decorticated fertilized
- Egg - egg:
1. Albumin layer
absent
Corticated fertilized egg: 2. Contains egg cells
1. Albumin layer
present
1. Contains egg cells

2. Morphology
- Egg -

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 Morphology
- Egg -
Corticated unfertilized
egg:
1. Albumin layer
present
2. Contains granules

Decorticated unfertilized
egg:
1. Albumin layer
absent
2. Contains granules

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 Morphology
- Egg -
Corticated embryonated
egg:
1. Albumin layer
present
2. Contains larva

Corticated embryonated
egg:
1. Albumin layer
present
2. Contains larva

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 Life Cycle

Life cycle

 Infective stage:
embryonated
eggs
 Route of
infection:
ingestion
 Diagnostic
stage: eggs in
feces

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 Epidemiology

 Two requirement to become serious health

problem:
 Poor standard of sanitation
 Physical condition (warm, high rainfall and
humidity, moist soil, dense shade)
 Contamination is the typical mean of
infection
 Such animals can serve as paratenic host

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Ancylostomidae

Hookworm

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 Hookworm

 Include about 100 species

 Normal habitat: intestine
 Feeding on blood and cell juice
 Males have copulatory bursa, which is
important to taxonomic character
 Females have a simple conical tail
 Of greater medical importance: Ancylostoma
duodenale, Necator americanus, A. braziliense,
A. ceylanicum, and A. caninum
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Ancylostoma duodenale

= Old World Hookworm

 Disease called Ancylostomiasis

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 Taxonomy

Phylum : Nematoda
Class : Rhabditea
Subclass : Rhabditia
(= Phasmidea; = Secernentea)
Order : Strongylida
Superfamily : Ancylostomatoidea
Family : Ancylostomidae
Subfamily : Ancylostomatinae
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 Distribution

 Abundant in southern Europe, northern

Africa, India, China, and Souteast Asia.
 High prevalence in Indonesia, which is about
40%

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 Morphology
- Adult -

• Head slight bend,

curve C-like
• Mouth: 2 pairs of
teeth
• Female: 10-13 mm,
tappered end
• Male: 8-11 mm,
copulatory bursa at
tail end

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Morphology
- Adult -

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 Morphology
- Egg -
 A female laids 10.000 –
30.000 egg perday
 Found in stool
 56 – 60 x 35 – 40 μm
 1 layer transparent and thin
hyalin shelled
 Content: 2 to 8 cells
developed egg

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Morphology
- Egg -

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 Morphology
- Larvae -

 Rhabditiform larva (after 2 days) is 250 – 300 µm long,

opened mouth and grows feeding on bacteria and
organic matter in the feces
 Filariform larva (5th day) is 0.7 mm long, named as the
infective larva, sheated, thick cuticle, anterior one-third
is being occupied by the esophagus
Filariform larva is quite resistant to environmental stress,
surviving without ingesting any nutritives for 6-9 wks in
the tropics, lives 1-2 cm under the ground

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Necator americanus
“American Killer”

= New World Hookworm

 Disease called Uncinariasis

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 Taxonomy

Phylum : Nematoda
Class : Rhabditea
Subclass : Rhabditia
(= Phasmidea; = Secernentea)
Order : Strongylida
Superfamily : Ancylostomatoidea
Family : Ancylostomidae
Subfamily : Uncinariinae
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 Distribution

 Predominat in sub-Saharan Africa. Southern

Asia, Melanesia, and Plynesia
 Probably introduced from Africa through
slave trading
 Occur together with Ancylostoma duodenale
in part of India, China, Southeast Asia, and
Indonesia.

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 Morphology
- Adult -

• Head sharply bend,

forming “S” like
curve
• Female: 9-11 mm,
tappered end
• Male: 7-9 mm,
copulatory bursa at
tail end
• Mouth: 1 pairs of
cutting plates (chitin)

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Morphology
- Adult -

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 Morphology

 Eggs closely resemble those of Ancylostoma, but

sligthly larger, ± 64 – 76 x 36 – 40 µm
 Rhabditiform larva is quite undifferentiated with
those of other Ancylostomatidae
 Filariform larva is thicker and shorter, with closed
oral cavity is clearly seen as a mouth spear
 Harada-Mori Modification Methode is the way to
culture and make differentiated between
A.duodenale & N. americanus larva.

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 Different anatomical structure between infective stage of
Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale

Characteristic: N. americanus A. duodenale

1. Oral spear Prominent (heavily Less prominent

chitinized)
2. Anterior part of As wide as esophageal Narrower than
intestine bulb esophageal bulb
3. Genital More anteriorly and Posterior to middle of
primordium smaller intestine
4. Tail end Wider angle with pointed Narroer and elongated
apex with rather blunt apex
5. Sheath Conspiciuous strated Inconspicious striated

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Ancylostomidae larvae

Rhabditiform larva:
• 0.25 - 0.3 mm long
• Open mouth
• Long buccal cavity
• Double-bulb oesephagus

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Ancylostomidae larvae
Filariform larva:
• Found in
contaminated soil
• Sheathed
• Longer and slender,
0.7 mm long
• Tappered end
• N. americanus: oral
cavity seen as mouth
spear
• A. duodenale: mouth
spear absent

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Life Cycle
• Infective stage:
filariform larvae
• Route of infection:
skin penetration
• Diagnostic stage:
eggs in feces

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Trichuris trichiura

Whip worm

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 Taxonomy

Filum : Nematoda
Kelas : Enoplea (=Adenophorea;
= Aphasmidea)
Subkelas : Dorylaimia
Ordo : Trichurida
Famili : Trichuridae

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 Trichiuris trichiura

 World-wide distribution
 High frequency in Indonesia: 80%
 Habitat: human cecal mucosa

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 Morphology
- Adult -
 Divided into two
parts: thin
anterior and
thick posterior
 Female: 3.4-5
cm long with a
linear caudal
end
 Male: 3-4.5 cm
with a curled
caudal end
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Morphology
- Adult -

50
 Morphology
- Egg -

Barrel-shaped egg,
50-54 x 20-30 m,
pores at both ends

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 Life Cycle
 Mainly humans serve as host
 No intermediate host is required
 Settles in cecum, here the thin anterior
part is partially inserted into the
mucosa, while the thick posterior part is
free in the lumen

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 Life Cycle

Eggs passed outside Mature in 10-14 days

with the feces under favorable
condition

Ingested by human
Grow adult worms being

Descends the Larva hatches at the

intestinal canal to the upper part of small
cecum intestine
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